Mildred’s new South Plaza spot serves brothers opportunity to scale brand’s cozy legacy

It already has one of downtown Kansas City’s best breakfast sandwiches. Now Mildred’s is opening another home-spun spot in the South Plaza neighborhood.

Mildred’s — a breakfast, brunch and lunch operation with locations downtown and in the Crossroads — plans a 7 a.m. Friday opening at 5060 Main St., in the former Mission Taco Joint space.

Mildred’s new South Plaza location; photo by Joyce Smith

Owners and brothers, Clayton and Evan Ashby, said quick-service, fresh ingredients and food made from scratch have been key to Mildred’s success, making it a metro mainstay for more than three decades.

They picked the South Plaza area for their third location because it is a “really fun neighborhood with workforce density within walking distance,” Clayton Ashby said, noting Mildred’s popular spaces downtown and in the Crossroads.

It will seat 80 plus people downstairs and 30 plus on the mezzanine (with a dedicated bar area where customers can plug in their computers). The new location also will have a designated pick-up area on the first floor, a rapidly growing trend in the industry since the pandemic. 

Hours run 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Parking in the adjacent garage is free with the restaurant’s validation.

Director of operations Will Noyes has worked with the brothers to finetune systems as it expands — not only to accommodate a third restaurant, but handle future challenges from such rapid growth.

“We have all just been dedicated to working hard and making Mildred’s the best place it can be,” Evan Ashby said. “We are coming from a ma-and-pa family business situation so there is a learning curve in terms of volume and structure.”

Mildred’s cinnamon roll; photo by Joyce Smith

Steamed to perfection

Breakfast is at Mildred’s core.

Served all day, it includes the brand’s top-selling chipotle breakfast wrap, along with a vegetarian sandwich (with steamed eggs, tomato, spinach, red onion, guacamole, American and Swiss cheese with pepper-Dijon mayo on toasted wheat bread), vegan hash, biscuits and gravy, quiche with salad, guacamole toast, bagel and cream cheese, and more.

The Standard breakfast sandwich from Mildred’s; photo by Joyce Smith

Mildred’s Standard Breakfast Sandwich (steamed eggs, bacon, American and Swiss cheese, and Dijon-mayo sauce on a choice of wheat, sourdough, marble rye, jalapeno, ciabatta, brioche bun or gluten-free bread) is its second best-seller. The Food Network has previously placed the offering on its list of the “50 States of Breakfast Sandwiches,” and describes it as “basically flawless.

“Their secret? They flash steam their eggs. Yes, Mildred’s has not one but two espresso machines — one for coffee of course, and a second machine in the kitchen solely for steaming eggs. There’s no butter or oil involved. In fact, the special process requires no additional fat whatsoever. The end result is feather-light and fluffy scrambled eggs that are ideal in a sandwich.”

Mildred’s lunch sandwiches include a guacamole chicken club, cranberry turkey, tuna salad, porchetta (with thinly sliced herb-roasted pork, herb mayo, provolone, tomato and arugula on rustic bread), a classic BLT, and a portobello panini.

The cafes also have salads and soups, coffees, smoothies, kombucha on tap, wine, beer and brunch drinks including a Boulevard Brewing Co. Tank 7 with orange juice. 

Pastries include brioche cinnamon rolls, Danishes, and gluten-free and vegan options including its popular granola bar.

Inside Mildred’s new South Plaza location; photo by Joyce Smith

Keeping the vibes alive

Different owners first opened it as Mildred’s Coffeehouse in downtown Overland Park in 1994.

One of many hot drinks available at Mildred’s; photo by Joyce Smith

Clayton and Evan’s mother, Debbie Luce Ashby, purchased it in 1999. She had formerly been with two renowned Kansas City restaurant companies — Gilbert/Robinson and Bagel & Bagel. She also owned Java Garden Espresso Cafe at 920 Main St. in downtown Kansas City and rebranded that spot to Mildred’s Coffeehouse in 2004. She also opened another location, 1821 Wyandotte St. in the Crossroads, that year.

The Overland Park location closed in 2006. The family dropped “coffeehouse” from the name about a decade ago since the menu was so much more than typical coffee shop fare. 

By 2018, the Crossroads cafe was so popular, customers stood in line shoulder-to-shoulder while ordering and then had few places to sit. So the family took a “leap of faith,” relocating and more than tripling in size (1,200 to 5,000 square feet) at 1901 Wyandotte, just across the street. 

Still, they were worried. When restaurants expand they sometimes lose “the energy, the vibe, the coziness,” Evan said.

“But within the first week, we had doubled our sales,” he added. 

A year later, they relocated the Main Street shop across the street to 908 Baltimore Ave., Suite 103, nearly doubling the size. The two shops wouldn’t lose any customers in the relocations since they moved just a skip away both times.

The cafes had previously just had an oven and hotplate. Now they had commercial kitchens that the family designed themselves, along with more seating in the dining rooms. 

During COVID, like many mom-and-pop entrepreneurs, the brothers were scared they would lose the family business. But customers lined up daily to pick up food through the Crossroad cafe’s garage doors.

The brothers purchased the cafes from their mother in 2023 so she could retire. But they still follow her guideline of treating people how you want to be treated, “a real intentional feel of care.” 

“We were raised in the restaurant industry. We eat and breathe restaurants,” said Clayton Ashby.

They signed a lease for the South Plaza space in August and have been revamping it since October. The restaurant includes a wall of greenery designed by the owners’ mother.

Local competition will include Eggtc., breakfast, brunch and lunch, which opened just to the south at 5107 Main St. in 2006.

Startland News contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Click here to follow her on Bluesky, here for X (formerly Twitter), here for Facebook, here for Instagram, and by following #joyceinkc on Threads.